Who says girls can't fight? On Saturday, October 22nd, dozens of girls gathered for a PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT Pink Party hosted by Olympic gold medalist Carmelita Jeter (known as the “Fastest Woman Alive”) at the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA in Atlanta, Georgia. The intimate Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence Awareness event featured a mile run, a H.E.A.T. Xtreme cardio class, a DIVAS IN DEFENSE self-defense workshop, and a Q&A panel including breast surgeon Dr. Erin Bowman, group fitness trainer Lauren Smith and breast cancer survivor ToshaMcDade (co-owner of Total Fitness Revolution).

After checking in, ladies left messages for a loved one who has battled the autoimmune disease.

The Sweat Show officially kicked off with a welcome message from PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT and SWEAT MAKES CENTS founder, AeshiaDeVore Branch. After sharing the emotional story of the loss of her aunt and godmother Patricia Brown to breast cancer, she then went on to introduce the Pink Party’s host, Carmelita Jeter. All sweat sisters adorned in pink PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT tees were then divided into groups to participate in an icebreaker challenge called “Get Together,” which required them to line up and race in chronological order based on a prompt given by Aeshia. Guests, including FBF Body founder Zakia Blain, then joined hands to recite the PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT pledge and welcomed new members to the Sweat Sisterhood. Immediately after, Carmelita led the ladies to one of her favorite places - the track - for a ten-minute run. While jogging, she offered advice to students who want to follow in her footsteps.

Following the run, guests engaged in a high-energy H.E.A.T Xtreme workout led by Lauren Smith. In just 15 minutes, every sweat sister exhausted each part of their bodies while jamming to an incredible playlist that consisted of tracks such as “Pop That” by French Montana. To watch the full workout, click here.

Skye Walton of DIVAS IN DEFENSE wrapped up the fitness portion of the event by teaching life-saving self-defense moves to each attendee.

Guests grabbed AQUAhydrate, Sabra Hummus, and Stacy’s Pita Chips to refuel and sat down to ask our panelists various questions ranging from career tips to breast cancer prevention. During the discussion, Carmelita shared how her aunt Brenda Washington’s breast cancer diagnosis and passing affected her on and off the track. Dr. Erin Bowman expressed that she became a breast surgeon because she wanted to help other women fight through their diagnosis and Tosha McDade shared how positivity allowed her to survive her battle with breast cancer. Major takeaways included:

Know Your Body

Be familiar with your body and your breasts; know what feels right so you will know if something is wrong. If something looks or feels out of the ordinary (i.e. lumps, swollen, or leaking breasts), consult your doctor immediately.

Breast cancer doesn't discriminate

It doesn’t respect age, gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status or a healthy lifestyle. About 85% of breast cancers happen in women with no family history of the disease. Get checked!

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SWEATLEBRITY REPORTER | Olivia Hancock is is currently a junior at Georgia State University. The 19-year-old has loved writing ever since she can remember and her passion for it has allowed her to hold the title of PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT Teen Reporter for five consecutive terms. In addition, Olivia has had the opportunity to work with Her Campus, Aeropostale and Nordstrom as an ambassador. Her writing has been published on xoNecole, 21 Ninety, Her Campus, One MusicFest, and The Life Currency. In the future, Olivia plans to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and pursue a professional career as a writer at a lifestyle publication.